Federal money good start for health care, 'but the hard work remains,' says premier

P.E.I. Premier Dennis King is looking forward to what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will bring to the table Tuesday in new money for health care, but says whatever it is will just be the start of fixing the system.

The premiers are meeting with Trudeau in Ottawa to hear the details of what is expected to be a 10-year health-care funding plan.

"I think it's a good sign that we're here," King told CBC's Power and Politics.

"We've been asking the prime minister to come to the table with more money. He seems to be in that head space so I'm excited to see that."

For the most part, premiers are withholding judgment on the federal deal until they hear the details. No matter how much money is on the table, it will just be a start, King said.

"[It] will be a good start but the hard work remains," he said.

"It's about transforming the system. We need people within the system to be able to do more, and if they're going to do more we have to be able to pay them more. We need to bring in some innovations of how we deliver health care, where we deliver it."

How that happens will be determined in each individual province, King said, saying that is the reality of the Canadian system.

It is also the reality, he said, that the transformation will be costly. King expects the health budget on P.E.I. to increase somewhere in the order of 12.5 per cent in the coming fiscal year.